Happy Tree Academy for Girls
by XxSullenLiftyGirlxX
Summary: Sequel to The Hard Times of the Raccoon Kids Shifty, Swifty, Lifty, and Thrifty are forcibly sent to a prestigious all girls school. The guys try to blend in while Swifty tries to stand out. Accepting ocs!
1. The Begining

**Hey guys, this is my sequel to Hard Times Of The Raccoon Kids (I regret the title tremendously) **

**For those of you who've read it, it is based about nine months after the ending. I'm not saying you need to read the first one, I'm just saying it would make more sense. **

**I only own my ocs**

* * *

_Swiftys P.O.V_

* * *

_"I got your position, T2. T3 is behind you?" _Shifty asks through my ear piece.

"Yeah, T3 is at my tail.

How's security looking T1?" I ask as I continue crawling on my belly through the vents. We have to use code names whenever we use the head sets, if we use our real names and someone tapped into our signal, it could be a disaster. No money, jail time, we could lose everything.

_"Looks good from where I am. BB, how's things looking for you?"_ He asks Thrifty.

"Security is on the first floor, could take them awhile to get to your position. The cameras are fakes, or at least no one is paying attention to it. The only monitor the fat guard is watching is some dumb movie with horses. The others are just chatting and walking." My youngest brother says through his head set. He's supposed to be in the oak tree next to the museum and keep an eye on security through the windows for when our system fails. Honestly, it's a useless job, but he's six. We can't trust him with anything of real importance yet!

Lifty and I sneak closer and closer until we're right under the display case. "Saw." I tell my brother plainly and he hands me the small hack saw. I carve a small hole until I can fit my hand to the velvet lining of the box.

"Holy hell, they're heading upstairs!" Thrifty gasps. "And quick!"

_"BB, you have to fall out of that tree like I showed you. When you get to the ground, scream as loud as you can."_ Shifty instructs, using his 'leader voice'. It's calm, yet stern.

* * *

_Thriftys P.O.V_

I roll myself off the branch, making sure my shirt snags on a branch like Shifty told me to. Supposedly, it makes the landing less harsh. I look back up and realize that it didn't work. I tumble to the ground and land on my side. _Shit_, my elbow and shoulder hurt. I scream as loud and as long as possible. I'm not really in too much pain, but I have to sell it to help my family.

The three guards rush outside carrying flashlights. I continue screaming until one of them, a ferret, is by my side.

He gets on his knees and helps me up. "Are you okay, kid? What happened?" He asked with concern.

"I fell out of the tree I was climbing!" I burst into even more fake tears, covering my face in my hands for good measure.

"What's your name little guy? You can tell us." The guard dog asks

_"Mittens Squirrel." _Shifty tells me through the ear piece.

I repeat the name and the dog eyes me suspiciously. "You don't exactly look like a squirrel. You look more like a raccoon." He gets closer and I can feel him staring at my dark blue mask and ringed tail.

"I ran away because I found out I was adopted. Now I just wanna go home!" I bawl louder.

"Eh, we were about to head out anyways. Fellas, you just wanna call it an early night?" The ferret guard asks the other two.

"Yeah, let's just lock 'er up and get him home." The fat mountain lion says, taking a set of keys out of his pocket. "Do me a favor, Slinky, start up my Buick and get this kids address."

_"Good job, Kid. Just give them the address I tell you."_ Shifty directs me as the tall guard, apparently named 'Slinky' helps me up.

"Can you walk, kiddo?" He asks as I walk forward. I take a step and slip in the wet grass. I slide and I smash my face into the brick building. Ow, oh my god that really did hurt. I run my hand across my forehead and realize that I'm bleeding.

"Can you just take me home? My mom's a nurse and she has a First Aid kit." I say with a little more bite than necessary.

_"2045 Acorn Drive." _Shifty tells me. _"I already called, she said it would be okay."_

"I live at 2045 Acorn Drive. Can you please take me?" I nearly plead.

* * *

_Shiftys P.O.V_

"Thanks again, Flaky. We should be by to pick him up soon." I thank Flaky over my cellphone.

"Anytime, tell Swifty I just cleaned my room and I have almost two bags of her stuff." She tells me and I laugh. "Damn, I should start charging you three for how many times I'm 'emergency babysitting' your brother." She laughs more.

"Fine, you can grab something from the Storage Room." I tell her and hang up.

I put my head set back on. "What's your progress?" I ask, checking all the equipment we got from Sniffles. Okay, stole. The equipment we _stole _from Sniffles.

_"We got the diamond. I just have to swap it out and we're good to go." _Lifty updates me.

* * *

_Thriftys P.O.V_

"Thanks for bringing my little cousin back." Flaky waves at the guards as they leave.

"Come on, I just baked some cookies." She invites me in. I step into the house and slip off my shoes. "My mom's out of town and my dad's working the graveyard shift tonight, so if you want to watch a movie or something, go ahead."

I walk into the livingroom with two cookies and start looking at all the movies. I can't exactly read that well yet, so I'm mostly looking at the covers. I find an interesting looking one. "What's this?" I ask Flaky as she walks into the livingroom.

"Thrifty, no. That movie is _sooooo _scary!" She pleads and I put it back. "Do you want to watch Freezing?" I've watched it at school and at other kids birthday parties. I'm not too big of a fan, but I can't get the song 'Allow It To Go' out of my head.

"Yeah, I'll go find it."

* * *

_Liftys P.O.V_

"Let's get out of here." I whisper to my sister as we crawl back, the diamond safely in our bag. "The guy didn't seem too patient."

"Agreed. Why does he want the diamond anyway? With a guy as loaded as he is, he could buy a bigger and better diamond. This is nice, but we've stolen better." She asks me as we come to the open end of the vent.

"I looked into it, from what I could tell, it's a family heirloom. His brother got it and donated it to the museum. He's one of their biggest benefactors and he made the curator sign an agreement to not sell it." I tell her, crawling out the vent. I feel for the small ledge and shuffle myself to the far corner and start sliding out, keeping a tight grip on the large metal end.

"I guess it doesn't really matter why. We're getting a pretty good chunk of change." She sticks her head out. "Bro, that's a pretty good sized drop, are you sure you measured?" She asks, worry sneaking into her voice.

"Yeah. It's about 12 feet. We're both 5 foot 8. If I grab you by your feet you can lower me down and I'll catch you from there. I already did the math on this, trust me." I tell her.

She takes a breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Okay, I'll give you the bag to put on your shoulder. It's only about a five pound difference. I should be able to support your weight. She tells me and hands me the bag. She starts lowering herself slowly until her knees and tail are out. "Grab on." She tells me.

I leap and wrap one arm around her ankles, the heels of her boots rest against my cheek. She continues lowering herself until she's hanging by her hands. I can almost touch the grass with the toe on my shoes. I let go, clutching the bag to my chest. "Okay, let go. I promise you I will catch you." I tell her. I know she doesn't like heights so I almost have to coax her down.

"Okay, here I come." She stammers. She let's go, as she falls I manage to catch her by the knees. I put her down and she starts sprinting toward the gate. I follow her lead and we both spring onto the chain link fence surrounding the museum.

We climb and drop and continue with our race through the woods. We don't say anything, we don't really need to. A smile creeps across her face as we approach the black van. Shifty throws open the door, knowing fully well what will happen. We jump into the van and Shifty slams his foot on the gas as we shut the door.

"We just have to deliver the diamond and grab Thrifty." Shifty calls. "Do me a favor, look up Happy Tree Academy for Girls. That's where this guy wants us to meet him."

I look it up on my phone and give him the address. "Guys, do you really think he's going to pay us what we agreed on. Family heirloom or not, this thing isn't worth $4000 _a piece." _I grab the loupe out of my pocket and look closer. "I really hope he understands that this is what was there." I sigh.

* * *

_Swiftys P.O.V_

"What do you mean?" I ask him, worried about the answer.

"I mean that this is just some low qual' moissanite. Low luster, probably a high scratch point too." Lifty, our gem/lock expert sighs.

"In English, Lift." Shifty and I roll our eyes at our younger brother.

"It's a type of synthetic mineral. It's better cubic zarconia, but not by much. In short, the diamonds a fake." Lifty sighs and puts it back in the satchel around his shoulder.

"Well, let's hope he doesn't notice." Shifty sighed and killed the power. "Cause we're here."

We walk tentatively up to the front steps. "Loaded?" Ask both my brothers, feeling for the glock in my pocket, ensuring the safety is off... just in case.

"Ye-" Lifty is suddenly cut off by the door swinging open. A large ape man opens the door.

"Are you the four Mr. Jepsom told me about?" He asks in a deep growling voice.

"Yes, he did ask for four, but the last one was used for a diversion." Shifty said coolly, matching the ape mans bravado.

"Right this way." He snarled.

We follow him down the long corridor, glancing at the pristine school halls. School starts up again in two weeks and we still haven't gotten registered. I mentally remind myself to grab the paperwork.

We're finally lead to an office, the words 'Head Dean' in golden letters printed across the glass. We walk in and we're immediately greeted by a bear, I assume that this is Mr. Jepsom. "Welcome, I trust that you have what I need?"

"Now, that all depends on if you have what _we _need. We agreed on $4,000 a piece. We're four man operation, so if you want it, it'll be $16,000." Shifty pauses for a moment. "Cash." He adds.

"About your payment-" he starts off and Shifty twitches his nose, giving us the signal.

I draw my gun out and Lifty does the same in a blink of an eye, Shifty already has it aimed. "What _about_ our payment?" He snarls.

"That's not the wisest thing for you to be doing, kid. A lot of people can get hurt." The deep voiced ape growls, stepping between Jepsom and us.

"Barnabus, I'm sure the children would feel more compliant if you left the room." Jepsom told him, keeping his cool and calm demeanor. He leaves without a word, but we don't put our guns back.

"I know you three much better than you'd think. Shifty James Raccoon, aged 16, 6' even, you weigh 100 pounds. The birthdate you use to register in most things is July 15, 1998. You're theoretically the oldest, but seeing as though you aren't registered as an existing person, no one really knows." Shifty keeps his gun cocked, but I can see his tail twitching back and forth, a nervous habit that he's had for years. "Swifty Delilah Raccoon, aged 16, 5'8, 95 pounds. You often register your birthdate as October 21st, but sometimes you use June 8th. Theoretically, you were born second. Only sister, must be lonely." He smirks.

"Hardly." I growl, my ears start twitching, another habit developed years ago.

"Ah, and finally, Lifty Anthony Raccoon, aged 16. Height, 5'8 and 98 pounds. You never register with the same birthdate. Presumed to be the youngest of the triplets. It's a shame your little brother isn't here. Thrifty Phillip Raccoon if I'm not mistaken, I never am. He may be six years old. He's only 27.3 pounds and he's 3'4, rather small and scrawny for his age, but showing improvement. I can barely find anything on this child, except for the fact that he was almost expelled last year and has to repeat Kindergarten."

Thrifty strikes a sore nerve. He's our little brother, we're supposed to protect him. My only fear is if someone from Child Services sees that he's been with us for months and he's only gotten a little bigger. Would they take him away?

"Why do you know so much about my family?" Shifty asks.

"Well, I advise you to put your guns down my young friends. Grab a seat and we shall discuss this."

Both me and Lifty glance at eachother and at Shifty. "Put the safety on, keep it out." Shifty commands and we sit down on the chairs in front of us. "We are not friends. You are going to pay us and you are going to show me how you got this information."

"I would much rather pay the three of you fairly. Giving you money outright would be dangerous, wasting your potential like that. You are very smart, but traditional schooling doesn't help you. You aren't excelling to your full potential. Now am I correct in saying that your family _never _got what they deserved out of public school?"

"Jus-" Shifty starts off before Jepsom puts his hand up, signaling him to stop.

"You've been doing all the talking. Give your brother or sister a chance to speak." He smiles a smile that makes me want to tear his eyes out of his sockets appears on his face. He dares to doubt our leader?

I'm officially Second in Command so I speak first. "What are you insinuating? Because if it's not that you're going to pay us, you're insinuating that you want a bullet in your head." I click the safety off my gun to show him I mean business.

"I want to offer the four if you a full scholarship at this school. It's almost $30,000 a year, so I'm actually be giving you more than we agreed on." He pauses for a minute. "Wasted potential is a very sad thing. What does your future really hold? Shifty, you'll hang up your boots and become a cop with a drinking problem. You'll miss your family, but they'll be long gone. Swifty, you'll wind up working at some shifty, low end diner as a waitress, living off of tips to support your abusive boyfriend and your kids. Almost like your mother. Lifty will more than likely start running an illegal casino. Cheap watered down scotch and machines that beckon you back is all you'll have. And finally, Thrifty. I have some level of hope for him. He'll be taken away, probably settle in with a nice couple. Marry a girl he loves and have kids. But, he won't give any of you a damn thought because he's too busy drinking his life away." I feel a knot form in my stomach and I feel like I'm going to vomit. I take a second to regain my composure.

"This is an all girls school, how on earth would we even attend. Physically, and mentally, me and my brothers are male." Lifty points out. "And I doubt Swifty could ever go to school without us." He points out. It's true, we all have varying degrees of separation anxiety and PTSD. It absolutely kills me to he apart from them.

"We require uniforms of all our students, you would be able to blend in easier than you may think. I would truly be the only one who knows the truth. I will assign you new identidies, it's a new start if you will. Besides, between 'disciplinary problems' and attendance, you skated on some very thin ice last year. Do you really think that they wouldn't expel all of you? There was talk at the district meeting of banning your entire family from public school _for life_. I strongly urge for you to consider becoming members of Happy Tree Academy for Girls." He gets up and opens the door. "Go home, discuss it, but I want an answer in 48 hours time. Failure to do so will result in this tape going to the police department." He smirks, grabbing a black cassette from his jacket.

"What _exactly _is on that tape?" Shifty asks, standing up.

"Our little conversation on the phone. I have you admitting that not only would you steal for me, but that you've successfully stolen from the museum numerous times." Me and Shifty glare at Lifty.

"We are talking when we get home." Me and Shifty both snarl at our shaggy haired, now red faced brother. _He _made the deal on the phone. _He _was supposed to make sure the call wasn't being recorded.

"Three days, Lift. I am going to murder you viciously for three days in a row." I inform him.

"Don't be so hard on him. I have some of the best equipment money could buy. Virtually undetectable." Jepsom brags. "Run along now. I'm sure you have more important business to tend to besides this." He ushers us out.

We walk out the door and into the van in silence. "Shift, what are we going to do." Lifty puts his head into his hands. "I really fucked up. I am so sorry guys." He apologizes. My anger drained from me, now all I see is my younger brother. Shifty and I are Leader and Second in Command, we've decided this years ago.

I hug him close. "It's okay, bro. It's that bastards fault, not yours. Shifty and I will find a way out of this, we always do."

"Yeah, Swift." Shifty runs his hand through his hair. "I'm really not finding a lot of wriggle room in this. He's got us by the tail and he's not gonna let go."

**Dun dun dun! Yes guys, this is my new story. Tell me what you think and if I should even continue on with this story. **

**Okay, R&amp;R!**

**I love you guys'll and thank you for your support**

**pm me for an oc form(mostly looking for kids to fill out the Kindergarten class) but anyone will be accepted!**


	2. You can't trust him

**Hey guys! New chapter!**

**A/N is at the bottom this time!**

* * *

_**Swiftys P.O.V**_

"Hey, guys." Flaky sighed in relief, realizing it was just me and my brothers at the door. "I was kinda freaking out thinking it was a crazed axe murderer or something." She laughed nervously.

"It's okay, Flakes. We've done business with every known gang, and criminal in town. They've all agreed not to lay a paw, wing, or talon on you!" I announce proudly to my best friend. "Where's Thrifty?" I ask, in unlacing my boots as we all enter her house.

"He's asleep on the couch. Hey, could you guys maybe stay the night?" She asked, dead bolting her door.

"But of course, my herbivorous companion." Shifty says in a British accent. "Maybe we can have a rousing chat by the fireplace about why my brothers and sister are not going to be attending public school anymore." Shifty continues on, despite Flakys face goes white in horror.

"W-w-w-what?" She stammers and grips herself.

Shifty sighs as we walk down the hall to Flakys' room. "We agreed to steal a diamond from the museum for this one guy. Pretty basic little thing, nothing we haven't done a million times, but when we came back, this guy just _baited _us. He knew things that that he couldn't possibly have known. This guys been plotting for quite awhile. And, instead of paying us what we agreed on, he's making us go to his private school, Happy Tree Academy for Girls." Shifty finished as Flaky and Lifty sat on her bed, I sat in her red bean bag chair and Shifty sitting on the floor and leaning in the wall.

"Wow, when are you going to tell Thrifty?" Flaky asked before pulling her legs up to her chest and crying. "I'm going to miss you guys!" She sobbed and Lifty put his arm around her.

"When he wakes up, I don't really want to just spring this on him." Shifty decides. "You won't be alone. You have Flippy. Besides, we're still going to hang out, just not at school."

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think about how much this is going to effect you guys." Flaky sighed.

"It's okay, Flaky. We did this to ourselves. Hey, we can't really complain about a free education." I laugh, making Flaky smile.

"You guys are my best friends." She sighs, leaning her head on Liftys shoulder.

"Yeah, heh heh, friends." Lifty sighs quietly, his tail and ears dropping.

"Bathrooms down the hall and on the left, Lifty." Shifty snickers.

"Left knob for cold water." I add, laughing at my brothers bright red face.

"Yeah, you two would know." Flaky laughed.

I click my tongue twice flirtatiously at my best friends. "You know it, babe." I point at her and we all start laughing loudly.

"Hey guys." My little half brother opens the door an yawns as he rubbed his eyes. "How'd the robbery go?" He asked, sitting next to Shifty.

"Um, about that, kid." Lifty cringes, placing his hand on the nape of his neck, the other still firmly around Flakys shoulders.

"Listen, we aren't going back to a normal school this year. All four of us are going to Happy Tree Academy for Girls. It's an all girls school and it actually starts in Kindergarten and ends in 12th grade, so we'll actually be on the same schedule." Shifty explains, much to Thriftys' shock.

* * *

_**Liftys P.O.V**_

"But, I talked to Nikki and she told me she was transferring Naki to the same school." I ease my little brother. Naki is Nikkis' younger sister and Thriftys' best friend/crush.

"Really?" He asks excitedly. "I still get to see Naki?!" He smiled brightly.

"Yeah, you'll actually be in the same class." Shifty tells him.

"Then I have time to win her over."

"How exactly are you going to do that, you blue haired casanova?" Flaky asks, smirking as Thrifty places a pair of sunglasses on from his pocket.

"I turn on-" He stops to dramatically bring the glasses down to the bridge of his little heart shaped nose. "the charm." He flashes a smile as the rest of us laugh.

"What charm _do you have_?" Shifty laughs. "You're six."

"Watch and learn, big brother, I've been practicing this for a week." He says slyly. "Hey yo, shawty, what's up? Do you live in a corn field? Cause, baby, I'm stalking you."

"That sounds so creepy." Swifty laughs, holding onto her ribs.

"And vaguely threatening." I add. "And saying 'hey yo, shawty' isn't the best way to start off anything. Class, baby brother, is how you get a girl, a good one anyway."

"And Thrifty, Nikki took in another girl since school ended. Her name is Misa, and I really want you to be extra nice to her, okay?" Swifty informs him.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He cocked his head in confusion.

"She's, a bit... different." Shifty tries to explain. "She's kind of, uh, challenged." He keeps racking his mind for a better word.

"No one deserves to be treated badly. I was treated differently because I was the smallest in my class, I won't let that happen to her." Thrifty decides. "Besides, that just makes her one of a kind."

"I'm proud of you, kid." I tell him honestly.

The door down the hall creaks open suddenly, making us all jump.

* * *

_**Shiftys P.O.V**_

"Everyone, get behind me." I command, taking a stand by the door, ready to jump at any second. The door knob turned open as Swifty passes me my glock, which had fallen out of my pocket.

"Hey guys!" Mr. Porcupine, Flakys dad, says happily.

"Hey, dad." Flaky stammers out, still trying to recollect herself as Lifty takes a protective hold of her again.

"I saw your kids' van outside and figured you were all still up. In a few hours I'm taking you all to breakfast, okay?" He says, pulling a newspaper out of his jacket pocket. "Russell's Surf n Turf apparently started serving breakfast and I want to take my favorite group of kids." He let out a large yawn.

"Cool, thanks." Lifty piped up.

"Anytime. And I don't want your guys' little sleepover turning into something more." He says in his 'strict father' tone, something he jokes about constantly. "No impregnation of my child."

"Shut up, Dad." Flaky says, mortified.

"You know you can trust these three, but I make no promises." Swifty says coolly.

"Bad Swifty, bad girl." He rolls up his newspaper and swats her nose with it. "No impregnating people."

We all laugh and Thrifty looks up. "What's that mean?" He asks and we all start laughing harder.

"I forgot he was in here, I'm so sorry." Mr. Porcupine laughs. "Kiddo, I'll explain later. I don't think your brothers or sister would want you to know for at least another six years. I'm going to bed guys, keep it down and have fun." He closes the door.

"Your dad's awesome." Swifty turns to Flaky.

"Are you kidding, we were at the mall yesterday and a song came on and yelled 'THIS IS MY JAM!' and started twerking in the middle of the store." She puts her hands in her face. "It was so embarrassing."

"So? He's just into music." I defend.

"IT WAS 'AMAZING GRACE'!" She yelled.

"KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE! THE NEXT PERSON TO YELL LIKE THAT WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A JUSTIN BEAVER SHIRT TOMORROW!" Mr. Porcupine yelled from upstairs.

"Point still stands, you have the coolest dad." Thrifty points out.

"Turn off the light, would ya'?" Shifty asks, leaning his back on the wall and pulling his fedora over his face.

* * *

_**6 hours later**_

_**Shiftys P.O.V**_

"Guys, I have some bittersweet news. I entered Flaky in a young artists society this summer. It was for teenagers from all the schools in town and she was noticed by a few upscale schools." Mr. Porcupine announced uneasily as we drove. "I wanted to talk to you guys about it before I talked to this man."

"What man?" Swifty asked suspiciously.

"That's why I wanted to ask while I had you four. You guys know every cheat, con man, and criminal in town. Have any of you ever done business with a Mr. Jepsom?" He asked warily and a knot immediately forms in my throat.

The man that me and my siblings have always admired for his bravery was now as fearful as his daughter. It's frightening to see this, it makes you wonder who exactly can be trusted.

"Because he offered Flaky a full scholarship to Happy Tree Academy for Girls. That isn't something that just _happens_. This happens in fairytales, and I guess in that one thing people do now. I think it's called fan fiction, I don't know. But, it just isn't realistic." He shakes his head and I glance at my brother and sister. The only ones who saw what happened mere hours ago.

"Don't trust this guy. I'm saying this because Flaky is one of our closest friends. It's no coincidence that he targeted her, he has us by the tail and I don't want Flaky going down with us. He's been obviously been planning this for quite some time. Flaky would be used as a pawn." I warn him. "I couldn't let any of our crew to get hurt because we made a mistake, it would be worse than Real Death." I finish.

"It's not worth the risk. This guy was able to find out stuff that should be impossible, he was able to trick the trappers, he's shadier than we are. I don't trust him and neither should you." Swifty adds.

My phone rang as we neared the restaurant, as I drew it out of my pocket and I recognized the dreaded number.

* * *

**Aaaaaaaaaaand, break! Yes, this chapter is finally ready! And I have news!**

**The next chapter is an Easter Special! I have a disclaimer explaining everything in the next chapter.**

**I only own my ocs**

**Therosiesweetheart owns Nikki and Naki**

**If your oc hasn't been in hey they will be**

**Read and review!**


	3. This is technically on time

**Hey guys, I made an Easter Special! Notice, this chapter is not meant as a religious statement, not made to seclude anyone of any belief, or made to offend **_**anybody. **_**This chapter is not for propaganda, it is purely for the storyline.**

**Now that we have that out of the way, let's read!**

**Disclaimer, I only own my OC's**

* * *

_**Shiftys P.O.V**_

"Bro, look at the calendar." Lifty whispers to me and I rub my eyes groggily.

"No, for the last time, I do _not _know when Chinese New Year is." I yank my blanket back over my head, blocking him out.

"It's not that Shift, I mean, look at the month." He insists, pulling my blanket down and shaking my shoulder.

I manage to open my eyes and glare at my younger-by-twenty-minutes-brother. I glance over him and notice that both Swifty and Thrifty are still asleep. "What the hell? No one else is up except us." I hiss at him.

"What holiday comes up soon?" Lifty tightens his grip on my shoulder.

I look at him and it dawns on me. "Eas-" I manage out before Lifty puts his hand over my mouth.

"If you say it, _she_ will hear it and wake up. If we don't say _anything_ we might be able to get away with just a week." Lifty pleads, looking into my eyes.

"What's going on?" Thrifty asks, looking over Liftys shoulder and let out a yawn.

"Come to the living room with us, we'll tell you." I tell my youngest brother and get off our shared bed. I fix my hat as Lifty and Thrifty get up, leaving our sister to sleep.

* * *

_**Liftys P.O.V**_

"Okay Thrift, the first thing you need to know is that Swifty is _very _obsessed with one holiday in particular. The only time of year when she snaps. She is no longer our sister, she's something from a whole other world." I tell him.

"What do you mean? I've seen her snap a few times. Especially near the end of the month. She'll be over it in a week." Thrifty shrugs.

"No, that's different. She doesn't just 'get over it' until they day after, she's freakin crazy. She's a perfectionist. This has been going on since we were nine. She's just not herself." Shifty explains, walking to the coat closet. "I'll show you." He grabs down a book from the shelf.

He turns it the first page. It was us when we were eight, when we had the best possible foster parents.

* * *

_Flash back_

**(Note, **_**italics**_ **are the memory and normal letters are Liftys reflective thoughts, if that makes any damn sense)**

_"Lifty, angel, you just have to stand still for one more minute." Mamma tells me and smooths down my hair. "Then, when we get home, we can have a weigh in." She smiles at me and turns her attention to my bow tie. _

I remember the weigh-ins. They would weigh us and whoever gained the most would get a treat.

_"Mamma, Shiftys' hair is done." Swifty tells her before placing her soother back in her mouth._

_"Good job, honey." Mamma looked back and realized that she already had her green pacifier back in her mouth. "Swifty, you do remember this is the last day you get that pacifier out of the house, right?" Mamma bent down to her eye level. _

_"I know, I just don't get it." Swifty mutters, not taking it out of her mouth. _

_"You might be short and skinny for your age, but you're a big girl now. Lifty stopped biting his nails and Shifty stopped gnawing on pencils, now it's your turn. All of your other foster parents gave up on getting rid of your pacifier, but I'm not." Mamma told her firmly. _

_"Mah-Muh-er." The photographer struggled to read aloud from the clipboard. _

_"Honey, don't hurt yourself now. Everyone just calls me 'Mamma' around here." She helps the orange chipmunk. _

_He smiles thankfully and sets up his tripod. "Anytime you and yours are ready, Miss Mamma." _

_Swifty took out her pacifier and gave it to our foster father. _

Our foster dad was amazing. I honestly can't say that I remember what his real name was. The first day they had us Mamma explained that people had a hard time pronouncing her name and Mrs. Rabbit sounded too formal. Dad on the other paw was always referred to as Dad. Several old foster kids of theirs, despite if they were adopted, aged out, or anything, called him Dad. He kept to himself so everyone in town just started calling him either 'Old Rabbit Guy' or 'Dad'.

_We all lined up, Shifty on the right, Swifty in the middle, and me on the left. Mamma and Dad stood over us. We all smiled as the camera shuttered._

* * *

"That is what set her off. Easter was _very _big to our foster parents, and they were the only foster parents we had ever gotten attached to. They had us for two years before everything came crashing down." Shifty explained. "They come back every year for Easter service and Swifty always makes this huge deal about everything being perfect."

"She feels the need, even though they have told us a million times that everything's alright. I feel for her, and I agree, we should look nice and clean at least once a year, but she takes it to new extremes." Lifty sighs and glances at his brother. "It's also when Shifty loses himself. He's not our leader, he takes position as second command and Swifty leads."

"It's what she needs, she needs to have control over this. It's better to just give her lead and go with it." Shifty explains.

"What exactly happens?" Thrifty asked, his voice starting to shake a bit.

"She's mostly harmless if you're compliant. Every year it's teeth whitening, clothes fittings, endless drills on behavior and manners." I explain just as we hear a groan from down the hall

"She's up! Go hide it!" Shifty hissed at me as I grab the book and jump over the coffee table.

"Hey guys." Swifty walks into the living room as Lifty throws himself onto the couch. "Is something wrong?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah. We're all good, sis." I stammer out.

* * *

**_Swiftys P.O.V_**

"You're a world class thief and you _still _can't lie to me. Spill." I put my hands on my hips, waiting for an answer. I scan the room and notice Lifty 'nonchalantly' whistling and Thrifty standing stiffly with his hands in his pockets. "What's going on?" I direct my attention to my youngest brother whose forehead is now beaded with sweat.

He glanced around nervously. "We were just talking about... you. Uhhhhhh" he glanced around, probably looking to Lifty and Shifty. I whip my head around and notice both of them miming at him to be quiet. "You just seem really stressed is all." He laughed nervously.

"Yeah, yeah. We thought you and Flaky should go out. Maybe go to the spa!" Lifty adds quickly. "Get your hair and nails done. Take Nikki if you want!"

Okay, who are these guys and what have they done with my brothers? "Really? Me go to a spa? On purpose? And without any motive to steal anything" I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow. "Since when have I _ever _enjoyed that kind of thing? Something up and I want to know exactly what it is, right now. I'm Second in Command, so I out rank two of you." I point out.

"Yeah, well I'm the Leader. I was born first and I'm telling all three of you to drop it." Shifty glares back at me, every ounce of his being was bravado. He steps toward me, his face softening. "Sis, it's okay. Go to the movies, go out for coffee, whatever. Hang out with Nikki and Flaky. Hell, we can even babysit Naki and Misa."

* * *

_**Shiftys P.O.V**_

"Fine, I'll call them. But you three have six hours to replace what you broke, undo what you did, or whatever you guys got into." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm going to take a shower and go." She walked out of the living room

"We di-" Lifty was interrupted by Swifty yelling from the bedroom.

"It's almost Easter, oh my god, Easter is coming!" Swifty ran back into the living room, panic spreading across her face.

"I need to schedule dentist appointments, get your suits tailored, and everything else." She hyperventilates and nervously flips through the phone book. "Shifty, say it." She pleads and I sigh.

"I Shifty James Raccoon, hereby relinquish my status as Leader temporarily to Swifty Delilah Raccoon. During this time she will uphold all Leading responsibilities, including but not limited to; dentistry, meals, and discipline. She will consider what everyone thinks before putting a plan into action. She shall get the deciding rule however, on everything. If she shall let the power go to her head, a meeting can be held for early impeachment." I repeat the verbal contract we made up years ago.

"Under my authority I, Swifty Delilah Raccoon, enlist Shifty James Raccoon as my Second in Command until his leadership is reinstated. Are there any objections to the agreement arranged before you?" Swifty asked.

"No." Lifty and Thrifty groan simultaneously.

* * *

_**S**__**wiftys P.O.V**_

**March 29th**

"Thrifty, Thrifty?!" Shifty called out in the store as I looked through the racks of clothing. "Come on kid, you only have to try on three more outfits, then Swifty says that your done!"

I was starting to get irritated with my little brother, _he knows not to just take off like that. _"I wonder if he-" I spin around, expecting to see Lifty, but he's gone. "Lifty?" I ask out loud and scan the store for my younger brothers.

"Hey sis, look over by the book area." Shifty smirks, crossing his arms.

I look and notice two figures on bean bag chairs. I realize that it's Thrifty asleep in one bean bag with his head resting on Liftys leg and Lifty has his head drooped forward. The book in Liftys hand slipped out of his grip and silently hit the carpeted floor. I grab my phone and take a picture as a beaver woman comes up to us.

"Now isn't that just precious? Do you know these two?" She asks and Shifty and I look at eachother in disbelief. We look nearly identical, all our lives people haven't been able to tell us apart, which is the main reason I had let my hair grow out.

"Um, yes. We know them." Shifty rocked back and forth on his feet awkwardly.

"Is that his son?" She asked in aw.

"No, those are our brothers. Liftys the youngest of us and Thrifty is out little half brother." I explain, trying to cover my laughter.

**April 1st**

"Okay, no big deal, no big deal." I wrap my arms around myself and try to control my breathing. "We can either get it tailored or we can just get you a new suit."

_**Shiftys P.O.V**_

I sigh as I look at the mess my sister has become. Her eyes are bloodshot from lack of sleep and stress, she's pale as a ghost, and her hair is starting to fall out. Lifty and I call it her 'shedding' which is what happens when she gets too stressed and overworked. She has it tied into a sloppy braid instead of it being styled and teased. I watch as three long green strands fall out of her head.

I look down at my old suit. I've grown five and a half inches since last year and both my light blue button up shirt and black vest are too short. The sleeves going to the middle of my forearm and the bottom of my shirt goes to my navel. "Swifty, I think you need to take a break for a minute." I tell her slowly and calmly.

"No, I promised I could do this. Mamma and Dad think I can do this, I'm not letting them down." She takes a breath in and relaxes her shoulders a bit, but her ears continue to twitch.

"Okay." I step toward her and hug her close. "They'd be proud of you either way."

She smiles, I notice her eyes are starting to look sunken in. I smile back at her. I may have given her leadership, but no matter what, she's my little sister first.

**Easter**

"Okay guys, the day Webern been waiting for." Swifty sighs and smiles brightly, her newly whitened teeth shine, the light reflected off her canines. My sister may hate the dentist with a passion, but like every year, we get our teeth worked on and she grins and bears it. "Let's just remember to look nice and behave." She grabs a lint roller out of her purse and starts going over my shirt with it.

"Kids!" We here a voice behind us and all of us excluding Thrifty recognize her voice.

"Mamma!" We all run toward her and dad.

"Oh, my babies." She hugs us all and kisses us one after another on the forehead. "My stars, it's been a long year. Lifty, you've grown so much!" She says in a was we step back.

I raise an eyebrow, I'm the only one that's grown since last year, I'm almost half a foot taller. One of the best things about her is that she could immediately tell Lifty and I apart, even without my fedora, and I'm wearing it! "Mamma, I'm Shifty." I frown as Dad whispers into her ear.

"Oh, I knew that honey. Mamma's sight is just going a bit. It's what happens when you get old. Now, where's this little brother I've been hearing so much about?" She asks and we all smile gleefully.

"This is Thrifty, he's six." Swifty says happily and drags our blue furred half brother.

"Hi!" He shakes her hand and Dads hand.

"No honey, none of that now." She brings him into a close hug. "You're just the sweetest little thing, you know that?" She puts him down.

"Hy do they only call you guys 'Mamma and Dad'? Both our moms are dead and our dad is in prison?" He asks bluntly.

"Child, that's what everyone calls us. Me and my husband have been foster parents for many many years. They were our last kids actually. We love them as if they were our own. You too." She smiled kindly and kissed him on the forehead.

"Now, this year is the first year my little Swifty Pie is going to be in the woman's bible study. And my boys are going to be in the men's with me. You'll have fun in the kids room though, there's a lot of kids your age." Dad reassures Thrifty.

"Yes, Shirley is going to have a wonderful time." Swiftys face drops and her ears droop at this.

"Ma-" She starts before being interrupted.

"I'm sorry baby, you're Swifty." She glances down and we walk into the church. "I'm so sorry, I've just been a little scatterbrained lately."

"Okay." Swifty says quietly, more than likely hurt by her memory.

* * *

_**Liftys P.O.V**_

She's not herself. I mean, I know she's changed since she lost her rights to be a foster parent, but she _never _mistook me for Shifty, and definitely couldn't forget Swifty.

"Hey, how about you go take Thrifty to the kids room. I'll get these three squared away." Dad tells Mamma.

"Will do. Come on, you'll be having plenty of fun." She says and takes our little brother.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Swifty asked on the brink of tears, a true rarity.

"We love all of you, I want to make that very clear to you three." He says and looks us all in the eye. "It killed us when the court decided we couldn't keep you."

"We love you too." Shifty tells him.

"Eight months ago we found out that your Mamma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's." He sighs, taking the three of us into his arms. "She does love you, so much." I feel a tear falling out of my eyes.

"So, she won't remember us?" Shifty asks as he releases us.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me." The voice speaks behind us. "Please forgive for what I might say to you. I love you all, you are truly the children I could never have." Mamma steps out in front of us.

"It's okay, we know." Shifty smiles, I can tell he was crying though.

She sighs and takes my hand. "Lifty Anthony Raccoon, you are the baby of the family. You're scared of clowns and your favorite food is macaroni and cheese." She moves onto Swifty. "Swifty Delilah. My little Swifty Pie, you know all the lines to Pretty In Purple and The Dinner Club, even though you act like the tough girl. You also secretly love math."

"I love you, Mamma." She cries. She finally takes Shiftys hand into hers.

"Shifty James, you take good care of your little brothers and sister. You don't think you deserve there love, but my dear little son, you do. You can't stand apples." She hugs us all.

* * *

**Aaaaand finito! Wow, how was that? Did it seem a little rushed. It was, I've been procrastinating and so you get the most rushed chapter ever.**

**And like I've said before, I did not intend to insult anyone from this and I sincerely apologize if I have. If I find out anyone was hurt by it, I am fully prepared to take this chapter down. **


End file.
